Black Run

"Written in a style both colorful and ironic, author Manzini proves himself a great storyteller." -- Suspense Magazine

"Don't miss Black Run for the excitement, suspense, and yes, horror of a fine mystery. And meet Rocco who is a man who makes and breaks his own rules." -- Bookloons.com

"The ranks of impressive Euro Noir novelists is swelled by the gritty Antonio Manzini, whose Black Run may sport epigraphs from Schilller and Mayakovsky, but underlines its genre-credentials with a superstructure of diamond-hard crime writing..this is lacerating stuff." -- Financial Times

"Manzini's detective story is a pretext for talking brilliantly about Italian society." -- Andrea Camilleri

"What keeps the reader glued to the story is Rocco. He's fascinating in his contradictions...Fans of Andrea Camilleri's Sicily-set "Inspector Montalbano" series will enjoy this debut mystery for its sly humor, vividly drawn characters, and amusing cultural clashes between rugged mountaineers and the more urbane southerner." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"At last a detective who's not haunted by personal demons or soaked in booze...He's a coarse, violent and engaging policeman who would not be out of place in a James Ellroy masterpiece. The tale is deftly told with sharp, cynical dialogue. Let's hear more of Schiavone." -- Daily Mail (London)

"Antonio Manzini has created an Italian detective to rival Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano with deputy chief Rocco Schiavone." -- GQ

"Arresting murder mystery." -- Monocle magazine

"Forget Montalbano. Commisario Rocco Schivone is grievous, coarse, violent ... Wonderful, heartbreaking."' -- L'Uomo Vogue

"Surly, moody, individualistic, unconventional, corrupt, abusive, with a dark past, Rocco Schiavone seems to come from the dark metropolis of a novel by James Ellroy." -- L'Indice

"Rocco Schivone is as bad a cop as Lt. Kojak. Dishonest, potentially violent, intolerant of the rules, but he also has a talent for the job he does ... an unusual character ... Noir with a touch of dark irony." -- Repubblica

"Fine humor and satire...BLACK RUN is set in a beautifully described area of Italy's ski resort region, with excellent characterizations and plot lines, genuinely funny asides and running tirades from Rocco, a truly good story, written with style and flair." -- Over My Dead Body (blog)

"A fascinating mystery...Manzini is a mature and polished writer...very good at what he does." -- Reviewing the Evidence